Out of the Pac – Week Seven

The Oregon offensive line will be tested by a physical Stanford front seven in Palo Alto.

Three of five with the Week Six selections lifts the current tally to 41-10 on the year. A full docket of Pac-12 games gets started a day early with Cal hosting Washington State on Friday. First, a look at last week’s results.

USC 38 – Oregon State 10 (pick: USC 45-3)Wire-to-wire Trojans and the fallout is still reverberating off Mary’s Peak and beyond. Head coach Gary Anderson vacated his contract after less than three years at the helm in Corvallis, leaving Cory Hall – who had been responsible for the DB’s – as interim. A lot to unpack… what does this say to a prospective employers in the case of Anderson and equally, what does this say about the state of the program to his possible replacements. There is nothing good that can be said of this.

Washington 38 – California 7 (pick: Washington 52-17)Washington opened up a 24-0 lead by the half and was never threatened. Jake Browning tossed for two touchdowns and Myles Gaskin ran for a pair while the Husky defense held the Bears to 93 net yards offense… 143 passing and -40 on the ground. Ouch.

Stanford 23 – Utah 20 (pick: Stanford 33-24)
An old fashioned slobber-knocker in Rice-Eccles Stadium. Total yards were nearly even with Utah gaining 382 total yards to Stanford’s 384. A pair of Troy Williams interceptions hurt the Ute’s cause but the real damage was done by the Cardinal’s Bryce Love. The nation’s leading rusher gained 150 yards on 20 carries highlighted by a 68-yard house call in the fourth quarter.

Washington State 33 – Oregon 10 (pick: Oregon 32-30)A rough outing for the Ducks and freshman quarterback Braxton Burmeister. The Cougar defense bottled up Oregon’s offense from late in the first quarter while WSU quarterback Luke Falk tossed for 282 yards and three touchdowns. Burmeister did connect with Jacob Breeland on a pretty 30-yard strike to give the Ducks an early 10-7 lead but it was all Cougs after that.

Arizona 45 – Colorado 42 (pick: Colorado 38-28)Arizona held on for the win despite 21 fourth quarter points by the Buffaloes. Wildcat quarterback Khalil Tate ran for a record 327 yards on 14 carries with touchdown dashes of 58, 28, 47 and 75 yards. After a 3-0 start to the season, Colorado has dropped three straight Pac-12 contests.

Week 7Friday, October 13
Washington State @ CaliforniaA promising non-conference performance has run headlong into the realities of Pac-12 play for first year head coach Justin Wilcox and the California Bears. After being mauled by the Huskies, the Cougars come to Berkeley ready to do the same. WSU 44-18

Saturday, October 14
Utah @ USCThe 12.5 point spread seems a bit high given the uneven performances so far by USC and a Utah upset isn’t out of the question. Were the game in Salt Lake the pick would easily be in favor of the Utes, but in the Coliseum and coming off a bye week the nod has to go to the Trojans, 35-28

Oregon @ StanfordNo one has stopped Bryce Love yet and while the Oregon defense is much improved it is difficult to imagine the Duck offense finding enough points for the upset on the Farm. Stanford 33-17

UCLA @ ArizonaArizona found a spark last week in Boulder and the Bruins’ defense may be the worst in the conference. Rich Rod gets the “W” in Tucson, 45-38

Colorado @ Oregon StateOne of these teams will get its first Pac-12 win of the year. It won’t be the Beavs. Colorado 28-13.